— Honda Pilot rear seat belt warnings caused a federal investigation in 2025 which has been closed without any additional actions by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
NHTSA opened the probe in late October 2025 following complaints about the rear seat belt warning indicators in 2023-2024 Honda Pilots.
Customers complained about illuminated rear seat belt warning lights which indicated the occupants didn't latch their seat belts when in fact they did.
Other customers complained rear seat occupants didn't have their seat belts latched but the warning indicators said they were latched.
The false positive and false negative warnings caused complaints, but NHTSA found nearly all complaints involved false negative alerts.
The false warnings occur with occupants in the Honda Pilot second-row and third-row seats, and owner complaints talk about the different views from the front seats. Turning around to check on second-row occupants is possible, but trying to verify latched seat belts for third-row occupants can be tough.
Eventually a driver will ignore the seat belt warnings.
According to NHTSA:
"Regardless of the type of failure, there is no effect on the performance of the rear seat belts or on occupant protection during collisions."
The investigation is closed, but the agency "reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances."
